Electric circuit interactive laboratory

Abstract

Ensuring the best teaching quality and promoting the critical thinking and hands-on experience of students are main concerns in the continuous development plan of the laboratories in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at the American University of Beirut. To this end, laboratory course materials are not only subject to constant updates, but also innovative teaching methods and evaluation techniques are developed. This paper outlines a new teaching methodology and novel academic Moodle-based evaluation techniques applied in a lab environment specific to Electric Circuits Laboratory which is a basic required course for all students majoring either in Computer and Communications Engineering or in Electrical and Computer Engineering in the Electrical and Computer Engineering department. The objectives of this course are to familiarize students with various circuit and electronic devices and their applications, to teach them how to use basic laboratory instruments, and to introduce them to laboratory techniques to implement and analyze electronic circuits. The motivation to implement the new changes was due to many observations and problems encountered while teaching the course for several years. The inventive teaching and evaluation approach have been applied so far for three semesters. Significant improvement in students’ comprehension of the material, depicted in a considerable increase in class average of the final exam, proved the success of the adopted method. Besides, an increase in class participation and involvement was noticed and course assessment done by students scored very high.